There are few things in life that give us immense pleasure, this sense of absolute joy, this awe that life can never get any better than this. Your wedding day, the birth of your child, and beyond all imagination the birth of a grandchild.

You were born a mere forty nine days ago, just 99 days after Britain voted to leave the European Union. Just 120 hours ago America elected its 45th President Donald Trump. And suddenly the world feels like a very dark and dangerous place. The world you are going to inherit is no longer the relatively cosy world I have had the pleasure of inhabiting for the last 50+ years. It has not been perfect, but it seems to have taken a sinister turn. And for that I feel you are owed an explanation.

There have always been concentrations of wealth amongst the few but the plutocrats of today seem to hold absolute power over governments and the global political systems. Crony capitalism goes from strength to strength and the middle class is shrinking. The vortex of minimum wage labour is relentlessly pulling everyone towards it – with the exception of the privileged few.

There has always been racism and discrimination in the Britain I grew up in. But over the last three years there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of violent, racist incidents. Levels of hate speech aimed at Muslims, indeed anyone ‘foreign’ have risen. People appear to be more interested in filming people being attacked or abused on their mobiles, rather than risking their own safety by intervening and stopping these events from taking place. Anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic sentiments appear to be insidious – in our daily lives, in newspapers, online and particularly on social media. The scariest thing is this situation is being worsened by the very people in society who should be protecting these groups and challenging it. Our politicians.

When you have politicians who peddle their dirty politics and incite hatred in the guise of ‘political campaigning’; who claim their country’s problems can be resolved if only we didn’t have so many immigrants; who claim the world would be a better, safer place if one group of people didn’t exist; who use the plight of refugees and the images of drowned children for their own political point scoring and use terms more commonly associated with individuals who committed appalling acts of genocide; we are providing elements of society with the green card they need to go out and attack and abuse those who are different and those who are most vulnerable.

And now the ‘free world’ has gone through an election where the forces of racism, xenophobia, bullying and ignorance have been let loose . Mother Earth must be weeping.

And this is the world you are to inherit. Where climate change and global trade tariffs are going to create misery and death on a biblical scale for the world’s poor, even if we avoid a recurrence of a 1930s style depression. My generation have failed you.

We have failed to mobilise those voices, those individuals in the world who still hold dear the basic human values of kindness, generosity, compassion, caring and respect. It is not that these types of people do not exist. I believe the good people in our world, in their heart of hearts, never thought any of this was possible. And as a result those millions of people who voted for Mr. Trump did so, not because they are racists, but as Bernie Sanders pointed out, did so because they are sick and tired of the economic, political and media status quo that has resulted in the suffering of millions, through unemployment, homelessness and drug abuse. It was these individuals who were taken in by a wave of anger and were manipulated by the lies and scaremongering tactics by the cartoons, adverts and posters. This is what has been used to convince people with genuine grievances who are angry with their lot that the solutions were simple. We were taken unaware. We were caught napping. And your generation is left with picking up the pieces.

And for that I can only apologise.

But there can be no silver linings without clouds and it is that silver lining we now need to find. Angela Merkel drew a line in the sand when she said that her relationship with Trump would only succeed if he upheld “the dignity of man, independent of origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political views.”

Secretary Clinton’s dignified reaction gives us hope; “This loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it …We need you to keep up these fights now and for the rest of your lives… I count my blessings every single day …our best days are still ahead of us…scripture tells us, let us not to grow weary of doing good, for in good season we shall reap…let us have faith in each other, let us not grow weary and lose heart, for there are more seasons to come and there is more work to do.”

Eliza, Hillary Clinton also had a message for you “And to all of the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.”

“The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger. The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity – or it will move apart.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt) This is the task that my generation has set you, ensuring that as we move forward, we move towards unity. Your generation will have the task of healing the gaping wounds that my generation has inflicted on the world. Be sure to fight for what is right, for democracy, for respect and tolerance and always search for the very best in humanity .

“No reason have we why we should not put our trust on God. Indeed He Has guided us to the ways we (follow). We shall certainly bear with patience all the hurt you may cause us. For those who put their trust should put their trust in God.” (Surah İbrahim, 12)